The Mask of Command

by John Keegan

Book Overview

John Keegan asks us to consider questions that are seldom asked: What makes a great military leader? Why is it that men, indeed sometimes entire nations, follow a single leader, often to victory, but with equal dedication also to defeat? Dozens of names come to mind...Napoleon, Lee, Charlemagne, Hannibal, Castro, Hussein. From a wide array, Keegan chooses four commanders who profoundly influenced the course of history: Alexander the Great, the Duke...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670459887
• ISBN13: 9780670459889
• Release Date: November 1987
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Commanding Forth : Son of Face of Battle!

The Face of Battle is a very hard act to follow and I think any reader will understand that as he begins The Mask of Command. This is a study of four leadership styles of famous generals as they evolved through different periods in history. So much has already been written about Alexander the Great, the Duke of Wellington, Ulysses S. Grant and Adolf Hitler, it is hard to imagine how succinct and enlightening Keegan's presentation can be. He is a superb writer of military history and in this case, of biography and theory. Keegan always seems to succeed in escaping from the customary and, by now trite, eulogies and strikes out into new territory. If you would like to find out about Alexander the Great's sex life, how the Iron Duke really felt about the "scum of the earth" that fought for him, why Grant drank like he did and more, buy this book! Seriously, there is no one writing thought-full military history like John Keegan. The last chapter (Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis) is pretty scary but you have to have this book.

study of military leadership

Professor John Keegan?s ?Mask of Command? is a far-reaching study of the military leadership through history. Keegan provides a study of the styles of 4 generals ? ?heroic? leadership of Alexander the Great, ?non-heroic? examples of Duke of Wellington and US Grant, and a ?pseudo-heroic? dictact of Adolph Hitler. Each individual study paints a quick picture of the personality of a general, reviews political situation, military technology and the prevailing warfare doctrine, reviews major battles fount and lessons learned. Of a particular importance, as is always with Keegan, are factors of technology and personality. Each of the generals will answer the question of the personal involvement and his place in battle in a different way. Alexander in always the front, in the first raw of the phalanx, mounted on a white horse, or the first scaling the walls of the besieged town. For him a general attains trust and leadership by personal example. He is the ?first? of his men. Wellington and Grant are ?directors? of the battle, whose purpose is to provide logistics and advise on tactics. Hitler, although he paints himself the ?first soldier of the Reich? is a psychologist and a technocrat, who seeks to provide moral leadership via demagoguery alone. This book reads like a breeze. Mostly impressive, in my own opinion, are reconstruction of the battles of Alexander from sometime scant historical evidence, insightful analysis of the unassuming leadership style of Grant, and the analysis of Wellington as an aristocrat of the battle. Great read!!!

Case Studies of Historic Commanders

Keegan analyzes the idiosyncrasies of four very different commanders in order to characterize the nature of command and how it has evolved over time. He emphasizes the impact of technology and cultural change on the nature of command. Using four unique vignettes of Alexander, Wellington, Grant and Hitler, Keegan portrays the evolution of generalship from the heroic days of physical leadership to the nuclear age. I found the part on Hitler very interesting. Below are some of Keegan's illustrations.Alexander - the importance of physical courage, leading at the tip of the spear, and animating a theatrical quality, which inspires the soldiers.Wellington - still on the front lines, but not leading the charge. Keegan describes Wellington's careful orchestration of the conflict with Napoleon on the fields of Waterloo. He begins to make the case for the impact of technology (gunpowder and muskets) on the general's ability to influence the fight from the front.Grant - and "unheroic" leadership, as Keegan describes his style. The author praises Grant throughout the narration, especially how the Union General understood the changing nature of war better than most. Keegan cites instances of Grant's bravery (at Palo Alto and elsewhere) and refers favorably to Grant's Memoirs. This praise contrasts with the next case study, that of Hitler.Hitler - beginning with Hitler's service in World War I, Keegan demonstrates the impact of the Great War on Hitler's leadership style and understanding of war. Keegan highlights Hitler's mistrust of many of his "staff" generals, given his own insight from the front as a messenger during WWI. Most of the general staff officers never served near the front since technology had rendered the front so lethal that generals, invested with tremendous talent and education, did not wander there. Hitler derided them at every opportunity. This is applied history at its best. I found the piece on Hitler the most fascinating aspect of the book. Read The Mask of Command if you are a student of military history or enjoy reading about leadership.

Personalities, leadership, heroism, and the future

Dr. Keegan has another masterpiece. This book details leadership styles and techniques by answering a very simple question: "In front? Always, sometimes, never?" The historical perspective on the question is provided in 4 fascinating biographies of Alexander the Great, Wellington, Grant, and Hitler. Amazingly little changed in terms of how war was fought between Alexander and Wellington and yet the cultural impact of their societies had profound impact on their power of authority and the means in which they wielded it. I personally found the biography of Grant to be the most interesting and how the influence of rifled muskets and the large presence of cannon drove commanders farther from the front line and how democratic society supported that removal of "shared risk". Hitler's biography clarified a great deal of history and myth that I had not read previously: Hitler actually had a much more distinguished career as a soldier than I had previously understood and that had a profound effect on his understanding and misunderstanding of the circumstances of the Second World War. Hitler appeared to understand a large portion of the mechanisms of leadership and warfare but misunderstood the key lessoned to be learned from the First World War: that the leader on the scene is often capable of the best decisions.The text effortless weaves these historical perspectives into a short, concise study of leadership styles and requirements and then presents a clear thesis on leadership in the nuclear age. This thesis is truly terrifying in light of the implications of history; our origins appear to contradict the requirements for future survival. This text is as much a study in leadership and management styles as it is a military science text. It is well written and highly enjoyable. If only we could get Dr. Keegan to add an addendum to leadership in the age of stateless terror.

Leadership 101

As The Face of Battle provided us with a foundation for military history/strategy, The Mask of Command accomplishes the same task concerning leadership. The main idea explores the concept of the heroic ideal, and how it has shaped leadership on the battlefield, and in the command tent throughout history. The layout of the book is classic Keegan, analyzing four leaders: Alexander, Wellington, Grant, and Hitler. He brings out their good and bad qualities, and supports his conclusions with conviction. The section on Wellington is particularly well-done. After reading about heroism for 300 pages, I was surprised at his conclusion in the final chapter (Post-Herioc: Command in the Nuclear World). Overall, this is an excellent treatise, and a perfect follow-up to The Face of Battle. Highly Recommended.